Kameron Marlowe: We Were Cowboys Tour with Wyatt McCubbin

Three chords and the truth.

It’s country music’s famous, straight-to-the-bone foundation, and the core of countess iconic hits. But as a new generation of artists emerge, it can sometimes feel like a relic. … Then there’s Columbia Nashville’s Kameron Marlowe.

For him, three chords and the truth isn’t just a motto, it’s the only way he knows to make music. Fusing steel-toed toughness with a visceral approach to songwriting, it’s the truth itself that guides his hard-to-pin-down mix. And with his debut album, We Were Cowboys, he confronts it head on.

“This is me and this is what I wanna show the world,” Marlowe explains. “I've really tried to fight for this record in a way that it doesn't sound like everybody else. … Basically, I tried to make it my own.”

About two years in the making, the project marks a creative arrival for the Kannapolis, North Carolina native. Wielding a high-voltage vocal and a country style to match, Marlowe’s sound is built around edgy electric twang, shades of gritty rock and a touch of bluesy tenderness, living comfortably in the darker corners of the honky tonk.

With a self-made background, Marlowe grew up singing and started a high-school band, inspired by everything from ‘70s and ‘80s country to Stevie Ray Vaughn, Ray Charles and Kings of Leon. A family-first kind of guy with a strong connection to his grandparents, the youngster grew to appreciate things that last, and by soaking up the music of his elders along with current hits, created a unique vocal mix that evident early on: Classic sincerity and modern swagger.